Tesla Might Have to Ship Texas-Made Autos Out of State Just To Sell Them Back to Texans
The EV company finds itself in an awkward position due to a pro-dealership law.
A recent pro-dealership law is making things difficult for Tesla.
The Drive reported that due to Texas’ legislator, Tesla might not be able to sell its Texas-made electric vehicles directly to its Texan customers. The EV-producer will now likely have to ship the cars out of state from its upcoming Austin Gigafactory before reselling it back to Texas consumers. Since it is even more unlikely that the state will call a special legislative session or provide the company with an exception form its current laws, it will be difficult for Tesla to avoid doing so.
In response to the inconvenience, head honcho Elon Musk state that the company “sure would appreciate” a change in the law to avoid the workaround. The proposed law would instead allow automakers to sell directly to its Texas consumers, as long as the cars were completely electric and were not sold through dealerships.
Texas is not the only state that has laws in place to protect its dealerships. Connecticut also has in-progress legislation that would allow Tesla to sell cars, but not lease them. Though, it is important to note that other states do not have EV factories like the Texas Gigafactory.
Check out Elon Musk’s full response below.
Tesla sure would appreciate changing the law, so that this is not required!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 27, 2021
In other Tesla news, Elon Musk confirms that Tesla Model S Plaid delivers will be delayed.
